Federal investigators have launched an inquiry into whether New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie improperly used Superstorm Sandy relief funds to produce tourism ads that featured him and his family during his re-election campaign.

According to CNN, federal auditors will examine the use of $25 million in public funds for a marketing campaign aimed at reviving tourism on the Jersey Shore after major parts of the coastline had been decimated in the 2012 storm.

Also on Monday, Democrats in the New Jersey state Assembly revealed that they are launching a special investigative committee to question more members of the Christie administration about the bridge closures in Fort Lee, N.J., according to two Democratic aides, The Washington Post reported.

"It will look into a wide variety of issues related to the closures and Gov. Chris Christie's staff," an state legislative aide told the Post. "There is a need to focus on a broad array of issues and the Assembly is going to dedicate itself to finding the truth beyond the usual committee process."

The committee will be chaired by Assemblyman John Wisniewski, chairman of the transportation committee, the Post reported. He will make an announcement sometime later Monday on the full scope of his probe, but it was clear that he planned to renew and expand the state Legislature's subpoena powers.

"The evidence that has come out in recent weeks makes clear that this now goes above and beyond a transportation issue and goes into the highest ranks of the executive branch," Wisniewski said in a statement. "A concerted and focused investigation with increased resources is now needed."

New Jersey Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone prompted the Superstorm Sandy inquiry after asking the inspector general of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in August to examine how Christie spent the marketing money approved by the department.

"This was money that could have directly been used for Sandy recovery. And, as you know, many of my constituents still haven't gotten the money that is owed them to rebuild their homes or raise their homes or to help," Pallone told CNN.

Pallone cited concerns about the bidding process for the firm that was awarded the marketing plan after it charged the state roughly $4.7 million, about $2 million more than the next lowest bidder, according to CNN. The winning bid featured Christie and his family in advertisements while the losing proposal did not.

Pallone told CNN that a preliminary review of the spending has already been concluded and that there was enough evidence to launch a full-scale investigation into the use of the funds. The probe will take several months to complete, with findings to be issued in an official report.

Any wrongdoing unearthed from the probe would likely further dim the presidential chances of Christie, who shot to national prominence on the basis of his performance during and after the superstorm.

News of the inquiry could also deepen the controversy surrounding the embattled governor who last week fired top aides and gave a lengthy public apology over revelations that they had ordered lanes to be closed to the George Washington Bridge in September as a possible act of political retribution.

Subpoenas could be issued as soon as Monday for Christie’s former deputy chief of staff and campaign manager, The New York Post reported. And New Jersey state Senate Democrats also have delayed the confirmation hearing for Kevin O’Dowd, Christie’s nominee for attorney general, who is his current chief of staff.

Meanwhile, in a sign that Christie's troubles are further deepening, his earliest political mentor, former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, has also distanced himself from the governor, suggesting Christie's aggressive character marks a sometimes "dangerous" approach to governing, and one that may be undesirable in a presidential candidate, The Washington Post reports.

"On the one hand, I think he's got a lot to offer. I think he's the most able politician since Bill Clinton," Kean said. "On the other hand, you look at these other qualities and ask, do you really want that in your president?"

He also hinted at Christie's hardball politics, citing tactics by Christie last year when he unsuccessfully tried to oust his son, Thomas Kean Jr., from his position as the state Senate Republican minority leader as part of a deal with South Jersey Democrats, who were helping the governor with bipartisan legislation.

"If you come at him, he's going to come back at you harder," Kean said.

I expected many conservative getbiggers to be calling this a liberal witch hunt, nothing but a concoction of lies from an angry leftist media. But these charges have some teeth. To believe Christie at his word - You have to accept a LOT of unlikely things. At some point, "I didn't know" goes from just being out of the loop, to having no control/knowledge as his staff broke laws and risked American lives.

OR - More likely IMO - Christie was very much true to his reputation as a tough dude, takes no shit, don't cross him or he'll hurt you. And the bridge closings were punishment for his political enemies. Being that tough guy bully used to be something he was proud of.

Sarah Palin says she isn't sure whether she'll run for president in 2016, but that current Republican front-runner Chris Christie will survive the controversy now haunting his office.

She also said the loss of television jobs by Katie Couric, whose interview with Palin is thought to have damaged the election hopes of Palin and presidential running mate John McCain in 2008, wasn't surprising.

Appearing on the syndicated entertainment show "Extra," Palin was asked by host Mario Lopez if she believes in karma.

I certainly believe that what goes around comes around," Palin responded.

Lopez then asked her whether she knew where she was when she heard that Couric had lost her daytime talk show "Katie." Palin said she didn't remember, but received several messages from friends about it after it happened in December.

"I remember getting a couple of texts that said things like, 'Oh, sorry that it didn’t work out there at CBS or ABC,'" Palin said.

She also said she wasn't surprised when Couric stepped down as anchor of "The CBS Evening News."

"The ratings were going in the tank with her as one of the head honchos there in the newsroom at CBS, and then it didn't surprise me, her other move," Palin said. "Things weren't going real well there, either."

Couric appeared to stump Palin in a CBS News interview when the former Alaska governor was seeking the vice presidency, when Couric asked what newspapers and magazines Palin read.

It was the same interview in which Palin noted, on a question about foreign policy, that her state's neighbors were foreign countries: Canada and Russia. That answer led to comedian Tina Fey's impression of Palin in which she said, "I can see Russia from my house!"

Gov. Chris Christie pushed back Tuesday against critics who have been hammering him over a political revenge scandal, using his annual State of the State address to say he would not let the political firestorm distract from the business of New Jersey.

"What has occurred does not define us or our state," Christie said in Trenton.

The address comes just days after the governor apologized to residents over emails showing top associates were involved in closing lanes on the Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge last year. The emails, published last week, indicated the closures were executed as an act of political payback against the local mayor for not endorsing Christie for reelection.

Christie, as he did last week, acknowledged "mistakes" were made.

"As a result, we let down the people we are entrusted to serve," he said. "I know our citizens deserve better -- much better."

As state lawmakers announce plans to ramp up their investigations, Christie pledged to "cooperate with all appropriate inquiries." But he also warned he would not let the controversy bog down his administration.

"This administration and this Legislature will not allow the work that needs to be done to improve the people's lives of New Jersey to be delayed for any reason," he said.

Afterward, Democratic leaders voiced skepticism at Christie's remarks. Deputy Speaker John Wisniewski said the investigative committee he chairs will press forward. He said "no amount of words" from Christie will "make this better or fix it," and that lawmakers need to understand why his associates took the actions they did.

"There are so many other questions," he said.

In rest of the speech, Christie was proposing extending the public school calendar and lengthening the school day.

Christie's proposal to lengthen school could antagonize an old adversary, the powerful public teachers union, which he has clashed with over pension and tenure changes. An overhaul of public employee retirement benefits by Christie and the Legislature in 2011 was bitterly opposed by the union, which spent millions in anti-Christie ads during his gubernatorial campaigns.

The education plan is the latest from a governor who has sought to retool schooling in grades kindergarten through 12 with mixed success so far.

Christie successfully overhauled century-old teacher tenure rules, essentially eliminating lifetime job protections. But the Democrat-led Legislature has not gone along with his voucher plan, which would allow children in failing schools to attend classes elsewhere, including at private or parochial schools.

New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie is more of a leader than a bully, voters say 54 - 40 percent today, one of his lowest "bully" scores since the Quinnipiac University poll first asked the question June 17, 2010.

Gov. Christie gets positive marks on key characteristics: Voters say 51 - 41 percent that he is honest and trustworthy; 74 - 23 percent that he is a strong leader and 55 - 41 percent that he cares about their needs and problems.

Today's results show more leader and less bully than the 50 - 45 percent results in a July 17, 2012, survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University.

Today, men say 53 - 42 percent that Christie is more of a leader than a bully and women agree 55 - 39 percent. Opting for "leader" are Republicans 78 - 17 percent and independent voters 55 - 40 percent. Democrats say 56 - 37 percent that the governor is more of a bully.

"New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie is doing better with the public than with the news media. His job approval has dropped from the stratosphere, but it's still double-digit positive, pretty much where he was before his Superstorm Sandy hug with President Barack Obama," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"We stopped asking that 'bully' question 18 months ago. But we tried it again and, even with all the 'Bridgegate' stories, he still scores higher as a leader than as a bully. Except with Democrats. More than half of them still say 'bully' - and not in a good way."

Some 93 percent of all New Jersey voters have read or heard something about the controversy surrounding the September traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge.

Voters in that group say 66 - 22 that the governor did not personally order the traffic jam. Even Democrats say 53 - 32 percent that Christie was not involved.

Among voters who know of Bridgegate, 41 percent say Christie knew what his aides were doing while 50 percent say these aides acted without the governor's knowledge.

If Christie did order the traffic jam, or knew what his aides were doing, 33 percent of voters who know the issue say he should be removed from office and prosecuted on criminal charges, while 32 percent say he should just be removed from office and 27 percent say an apology is enough.

Aides accused of involvement should be prosecuted, 43 percent of voters say, while 45 percent say removal from office is sufficient punishment and 6 percent say a reprimand is punishment enough.

The George Washington Bridge scandal "damages" Christie's chances as a 2016 presidential contender, 49 percent of voters who know the issue say. Another 7 percent say the scandal ends those chances, while 2 percent say it helps his chances and 38 percent say the scandal will have no impact.

"If Gov. Christie ordered or knew about the deliberate mess at the bridge, 24 percent of Republicans think he should be fired and another 26 percent say he should be fired and prosecuted," Carroll said.

"But most New Jerseyans - even most Democrats - doubt that the Governor was personally involved.

"Christie for President? This scandal hurts his chances, both Democrats and Republicans think. But - maybe it's pride in having their governor tops on the list - many New Jerseyans think he's still up there."

From January 10 - 13, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,207 New Jersey voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Iowa, Colorado and the nation as a public service and for research.

Washington (CNN) - As New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie looked to move on Tuesday from a political scandal plaguing his administration, two Republican governors said they still back his leadership of the Republican Governors Association.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert told reporters outside the White House they had confidence in Christie's leadership after documents came to light suggesting his staffers had shut down access lanes to a busy bridge last year in an alleged act of political retribution.

Last week, Christie dismissed a senior aide as well a longtime political adviser following the revelations, and then held a nearly two-hour press conference to answer questions about the scandal. The governor said he had not been aware of the apparent reason behind the lane closures.

"He was completely transparent and gave the public a chance to hear what he understood and what he knew. Took action on it, decisive action, in terms of removing the people who were not forthright with him," said Walker, who, like Christie, is considered a potential presidential candidate in 2016. "And assuming everything stays as he's announced, I don't see that being a problem going forward."

Herbert, too, expressed faith in Christie's leadership of the RGA, a highly visible post that past governors have used as a launching pad for higher office.

"I think Chris has been a great leader for New Jersey," Herbert told reporters, adding that it was possible more details could emerge in the bridge scandal. "I think we need to let that play out, but this is one Republican governor that supports Chris Christie as chairman of our RGA."

The two governors had joined four other members of the executive committee of the National Governors Association on Tuesday for a roughly 90-minute White House meeting with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

Christie is set to travel to Florida this weekend to headline a fundraiser for the RGA as well as private fundraisers for Gov. Rick Scott’s re-election bid. CNN confirmed Christie still plans to attend the events.

A New Jersey assemblyman leading the investigation behind the growing bridge-gate scandal should step down because he's already made up his mind on Gov. Chris Christie, former New York Gov. Rudy Giuliani said.

Wisniewski, also on the Sunday show, was careful to say that there have "absolutely" been no documents that show Christie himself, and not his senior aides, were involved with September closures on the George Washington Bridge. The closures were allegedly in retribution for the Fort Lee mayor's refusal to support Christie's re-election.

However, Wisniewski said he still finds it hard to believe Christie's claims that he knew nothing of the plan.

Those statements, Giuliani said, show that Wisniewski, who is leading state lawmakers' probe into the bridge closures, has already made up his mind.

"There are no facts on the table to contradict Gov. Christie," said Giuliani. "The person conducting the investigation has already announced the conclusion of the investigation."

Further, Giuliani said that he believes the claims being made against the governor are part of a "very well-orchestrated effort" against the only Republican who is coming out ahead of potential Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in polls about the 2016 race.

Meanwhile, Christie has handled the blossoming scandal well, said Giuliani, including holding his lengthy press conference and firing the people behind the closing.

Giuliani also said Sunday he has some doubts about claims made by Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer over the weekend that Christie's administration withheld Superstorm Sandy relief money from her city after she refused to approve a redevelopment project he favored.

"Mayor Zimmer said before that she didn't believe any hold-ups had anything to with her not endorsing [the project]," said Giuliani. "You have to look at her current statement in light of her former statements."

Wisniewski, though, said Zimmer is a "well-respected mayor" and investigators need to give her allegations serious thought.

"She is one of the first mayors to come forward and say this specific thing happened," said Wisniewski.

Meanwhile, Giuliani said that every public official has to worry about his or her staff going too far when trying to please their boss.

"The president says he didn't know what happened with the IRS [targeting of conservative groups] and I believe that's true," said Giuliani, noting that when he was in office, "people would do the things they thought I wanted, and I'd have to straighten it out."

But Wisniewski said that "abusing power should not be condoned. We're going to look and see who else in his office knew."

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, appearing on the show's round table segment, said that if Christie is going to run for office, he's "got to understand that this is a marathon. This could go on for six to nine months."

(Reuters) - Battling investigations over the "Bridgegate" scandal in his home state, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie plans to embark on a national tour that will give him a chance to raise money for fellow Republicans, woo conservatives and show party leaders that he is not politically toxic.

Christie - widely viewed as the leading contender for the 2016 Republican nomination for president before the scandal over traffic jams on the George Washington Bridge exploded a month ago - plans to spend the next month crisscrossing the nation as chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA).

In a tour that will test whether his power as a party fundraiser has diminished, Christie is scheduled to appear at fundraisers for Republican candidates, party strategy sessions and other meetings in Illinois, Texas, New York, Maryland, Georgia and Washington, D.C.

One of Christie's stops will be at a meeting of the influential Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). The group snubbed Christie last year, in a move that many saw as retribution for the governor's kind words for Democratic President Barack Obama in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, which struck New Jersey just before the 2012 presidential election.

CPAC officials did not respond to Reuters' questions about their decision to invite Christie. Their invitation to him comes as many Republican leaders appear to be keeping an arm's length from Christie without disavowing him, hoping that the New Jersey scandal subsides.

Christie has denied knowing in advance about his aides' orders to close lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, New Jersey in September. His aides were alleged to have carried out the closures as political retribution against a local official who declined to endorse Christie for re-election.

At least three Christie aides have left his camp amid federal and state investigations into the lane closures, which created traffic jams over four days. Christie's popularity in state and national polls has dropped dramatically, raising doubts about his viability as a potential contender for the White House.

But "unless the facts change, I don't see major Republican party officials or major donors treating Governor Christie differently from how they have been" since the initial news broke, said Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak, noting that the upcoming trip will give Christie a chance to boost their confidence.

"Could he use an existing travel plan to try to relaunch himself and highlight his own record and fix areas he wants to? Sure. CPAC is probably part of that," Mackowiak said.

SUPPORT FOR CHRISTIE

Christie's office referred questions to the RGA, which emphasized that the fundraisers he will attend in Illinois and Texas have been planned since December - and so are not part of any plan to give Christie what amounts to a comeback tour.

The RGA, which is made up of the country's 29 Republican state governors, has affirmed its confidence in Christie since the scandal began last month.

But in light of the scandal, some supporters and Republican Party contributors privately have expressed concerns about Christie's ability to raise money for Republican candidates for state governorships, even with his longtime close ties to Wall Street donors.

Christie's first stops on his tour will be in conservative Texas, where he will attend RGA events in Dallas and Fort Worth on Thursday. On February 11, Christie will speak at the Economic Club of Chicago and attend RGA events that include a fundraiser.

The following week he will speak at the National Republican Senatorial Committee retreat in New York City - home to more of his biggest donors - before heading to the National Governors Association meeting in Washington three days later.

During the first week of March he will court the Republican Party's conservative wing at CPAC's meeting just outside of Washington. He then will speak at the American Enterprise Institute's World Forum in Georgia on March 8.

"CPAC is helpful for him now. He needs conservatives to help him in his current crisis, and he's likely running for president and doesn't want to earn the ire of conservatives more than he already has," Mackowiak said.

I bet he uses that CPAC stage to melt down and apologize and shed tears because, well, in this 4th wave of lies, he is absolutely caught and only the rare idiot believes him at this point. He's just changed the story so many times, and had so many people contradict him.

Sadly, I think many repubs will say "He's learned his lesson" and "He's a better man for it". he's nothing more than a guy that kept changing the story as the news revealed more and more. We could POSSIBLY forgive if, on day 1, he said "Yeah, ya know what, I shut down those lanes to get that guy back... I give a shit about our state, I misused my power, and I'm sorry for it. I'll forfeit a month of salary to charity and I'll pick up garbage on the side of the road for a weekend, and I'll apologize face-to-face to anyone who wants it".

WIN. That's how he could have won on this issue. Instead, he's just kept the lie up. Changing the lie every time he gets caught. Now, he's reduced to attacking the messenger and the media... he can't even deny the charges anymore.

yet some will totally accept his eventual apology and support him for POTUS.

Where just months ago Republicans brimmed with pride over Chris Christie's landslide re-election, doubts about his prospects as a potential presidential candidate have begun creeping into the minds of some donors in key states, according to some GOP fundraisers.

The celebrity New Jersey governor is in Chicago Tuesday to raise money for the Republican Governors Association that he chairs. While Christie gets credit for helping raise millions of dollars to help hold the GOP's edge in governorships this fall, what was supposed to be a re-election victory tour featuring him as a rising national leader has sparked a different conversation.

Ann Herberger, a national Republican fundraiser based in Florida, said Christie's robust persona and blunt style can pack a room. Some donors, however, have expressed reservations about his future because of the flap over the closure of two access lanes to the heavily traveled George Washington Bridge between New Jersey and Manhattan for four days last September.

Emails from a top political adviser and between a top Christie aide and a Port Authority official he appointed cast the traffic-snarling lane closures as retaliation for a local mayor's decision not to endorse Christie's re-election. Christie fired the aide and his political adviser but has denied authorizing or knowing about the scheme until the emails became public last month.

"There are influential donors who are giving him a second and third look," Herberger said of Christie. "Where they would have been 'this is the guy' two months ago, I think a lot of people are giving him a second look and keeping their powder dry."

"But that could change, too," said Herberger. "There's so much time between now and the primaries."

Herberger is a longtime fundraiser for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, another 2016 GOP presidential prospect. While her comments echoed those of some fundraisers in a handful of battleground states, far more Republican donors and officials are publicly withholding judgment on Christie until it's clear whether his adamant denial of involvement in the lane closures withstands scrutiny.

If it does, he survives as a 2016 prospect. If it doesn't, he's finished, his most vocal advocates agree. Christie has said he won't decide for another year whether to run for president.

"I'm just not seeing" donor apprehension, said Phil Cox, executive director of the Republican Governors Association. "We're off to a historically strong start."

Christie's political future aside, the RGA has raised $15 million since December, when Christie became its chairman, said Gail Gitcho, the association's communication director. That includes $6 million in January, when internal state email about the traffic scandal was becoming public.

Still, there was no escaping the questions hanging over the 2016 presidential prospect Tuesday. In New Jersey, Christie representatives were scheduled to ask state officials if his political fundraisers can raise extra money to pay for the requirements of complying with subpoenas related to the allegations that the George Washington Bridge traffic snarl was politically motivated.

Christie planned to attend a private Tuesday morning fundraiser for Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin. He also scheduled an hourlong public appearance Tuesday before roughly 1,600 Chicago business elites and a full contingent of national press at the Economic Club of Chicago.

He planned to take prepared questions in a session moderated by Motorola Solutions CEO Greg Brown — his first public appearance since his two-hour news conference Jan. 9 on the traffic scandal. Private meetings in the afternoon with high-dollar donors were to be capped with a dinner at the home of billionaire couple Ken and Anne Griffin.

Democrats, meanwhile, have been busily trying to fan the flames of Christie's problems. They have dispatched former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland to hold a press conference Tuesday in Chicago and were quick to point out that Texas gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott and GOP Gov. Rick Perry were absent from Christie's events in the state last week. Christie got commitments of $1.5 million from donors in Texas, said Gitcho.

Christie remains a popular figure in segments of the national Republican donor base and among other GOP governors.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott joined Christie in Florida last week and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is welcoming his help. Both face tough fights this year for re-election. Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, viewed as a safe bet for re-election for now, also is standing by him.

"I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt, just like anyone else. Innocent until proven guilty," Branstad said last week.

John Rood, a top Florida GOP fundraiser, also defended Christie, saying hardball politics is a valued trait.

"You want a president who is strong, who will stand up to world leaders. Does that make him a bully? I don't know," said Rood. "There's a fine line in that range of personality."

Four Republicans running for Illinois governor face a primary election in five weeks, and just one planned to appear publicly with Chris Christie during his fundraising and speaking stops in Chicago today.

The embattled New Jersey governor should be getting used to his party colleagues shunning photo opportunities with him following the furor raised by politically motivated lane closures and traffic jams on the George Washington Bridge created by his administration.

During stops in Texas and Florida in recent weeks, office holders and candidates in his party also skipped public appearances with Christie, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Democrats have pounced on the bridge story, seeking to tarnish a potential presidential contender as well as other Republicans who appear with him.

“With every state he visits, Republicans are running for the hills,” said former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, who headlined a Democratic National Committee news conference in Chicago today. “It’s time for Governor Christie to stop the condescension, the attacks and the bluster and to answer the questions.”

Illinois state Senator Bill Brady, one of the Republicans running for governor, opted to weather such criticism and appear with Christie today while fellow state Senator Kirk Dillard, state Treasurer Dan Rutherford and venture capitalist Bruce Rauner didn’t. They are competing in a March 18 primary to win the right to challenge Democratic Governor Pat Quinn.

National Tour

Christie is traveling nationwide to raise millions for the RGA, an assignment that was supposed to help boost his national standing ahead of a potential 2016 White House bid. His stops today include a fundraising dinner at the home of Ken Griffin, founder of Chicago-based hedge-fund firm Citadel LLC, and an address before the Economic Club of Chicago with Greg Brown, chief executive officer of Schaumburg, Illinois-based Motorola Solutions Inc.

The RGA downplayed the fact that Christie wasn’t expected to stand with candidates for governor in Illinois today.

“The events Governor Christie are attending are on behalf of the RGA to raise funds for the RGA,” said the group’s spokesman, Jon Thompson. “The RGA usually doesn’t get involved in primaries, which is why the events were not originally designed to feature any candidates.”

That will change once a Republican nominee is selected in Illinois, Thompson said.

“We have no doubt the RGA will be highly involved in the Illinois governor’s race in the nine months to come, and will work closely with the eventual GOP nominee,” he said.

RGA Fundraising

Ahead of the Chicago visit, the RGA sought to rebuff the notion that Christie is a wounded warrior for the party, releasing what it said were robust fundraising figures.

The association raised $6 million in January, Thompson said. That was more than twice as much as has been raised during that month in RGA history and twice as much as collections in January 2010, the month the group said was most comparable to this year’s election-year fundraising.

Last week, Christie raised $1.5 million during a swing through Texas, Thompson said. The governor is scheduled to attend fundraising events in the coming weeks and months in Massachusetts, Utah, Georgia, Connecticut and Michigan.

The bridge scandal has provided fodder for opponents portraying Christie as a bully and undermined his claim to bipartisan leadership. He had been the one prospective Republican candidate to run most competitively in polls against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is considering a Democratic bid for president in 2016.

Poll Slide

After it was learned that Christie allies were responsible for the lane closures, Clinton moved ahead of him, 46 percent to 38 percent among voters, in a Jan. 21 survey by Hamden, Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University. That compares with a December poll by the university that showed the two essentially tied, with about 40 percent support for each.

The governor’s dominance among the prospective Republican candidates also has declined. A Jan. 23 Washington Post poll showed Christie with 14 percent support, compared with 18 percent for both House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. That represented a 10-percentage-point slide from the 24 percent support Christie garnered in a CNN/ORC poll taken after his November re-election.

The RGA, an organization free of contribution limits, raised $27 million in the last six months of 2013 with a total of $50 million for the year, according to its latest Internal Revenue Service filing.

Big Donors

Among the group’s biggest donors were Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chief Executive Officer Sheldon Adelson and Limited Brands Inc. CEO Leslie Wexner; each gave $1 million. Koch Industries Inc., the company whose founders Charles and David Koch have helped finance Tea Party groups, gave $525,000, and David Koch chipped in another $1.25 million. Rex Sinquefield, a Missouri entrepreneur who has also backed the limited-government movement, contributed $250,000.

The Democratic Governors Association reported raising $28 million for the full year.

Following an appearance in Chicago by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former White House political adviser David Axelrod said that, despite the bridge-gate scandal, not to count the embattled Republican out as a contender for president in 2016.

"I think what you saw yesterday was the two sides of the Chris Christie story here. He was very, very good out here," Axelrod told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday.

During a trip to raise money for the Republican Governors Association, Christie on Tuesday addressed the Economic Club of Chicago. He spoke about income inequality, a topic that Democrats have been promoting. Christie described the debate as a choice between mediocrity and greatness.

"You want income inequality? That's mediocrity. Everybody can have an equal mediocre salary," Christie said Tuesday. "I grew up in an America that said, 'Life isn't fair. But, opportunity is.'"

Axelrod said Christie was "presenting himself with great confidence," despite unanswered questions about his involvement in the closing of lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge last September. He said Christie clearly considered himself "a presidential candidate until further notice."

Until the bridge-gate scandal is resolved, Axelrod said Christie remains "in great peril," and that his fate is "not in his own performance, but with the evidence that is collected by the folks in New Jersey."

Axelrod said Christie articulated the "big debate" about inequality and opportunity. He said Democrats "should be about what he said" on the subject.

"The real debate is, where do you stand on investing in education? Where do you stand on investing in research and development? Where do you stand on doing the things that are necessary to create those conditions for opportunity? That's the big debate we should have in 2016," Axelrod said.

MADISON, Wis.— Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday that Chris Christie should remain chairman of the Republican Governors Association, despite calls from some quarters for the New Jersey governor to step aside in light of the traffic scandal dogging him back home.

Walker said he and Christie spoke the same day last month that Christie held his marathon press conference declaring his innocence in the scheme to slow traffic on the George Washington Bridge in an apparent act of political retribution. Walker said he believed Christie’s explanation then – that wayward aides executed the traffic jam without his knowledge – and has had no reason to doubt the New Jersey governor since.

“He told me the same thing in private that he did to the press in New Jersey, and I have every reason to believe that the information he said is consistent with the truth, and so I still support him in his role as governor and his role in the RGA,” Walker said at an economic conference here.

An editorial in the Newark Star-Ledger this week called on Christie to step aside as RGA chairman, calling his duties for the group “a major distriction.” With much of his top staff “ensnared in the Bridgegate scandals,” the newspaper wrote, “who is minding the store?” Failed GOP Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli earlier called on Christie to step aside as RGA chairman.

Walker said his support for Christie is steadfast, but he added that if something came out linking Christie to the scandal personally, “I’d have to reassess that.”

POLITICO reported last week that some Republicans believe Christie’s troubles could be a boon to Walker’s national prospects. Both are viewed as likely candidates for the White House.

Walker, however, said Wednesday he’s not looking that far ahead at this point.

“I even say to fellow Republicans: Any Republican who’s focused on anything other than 2014 is doing a disservice to themselves, to their party and to their country,” Walker said. “There’s a lot at stake in the 2014 election, not only in my case as governor but in the U.S. Senate is very much in play and the question of holding the House or not.”

Portrait of the Governor as a Young ManChris Christie's forgotten early years of scandal and failure.By OLIVIA NUZZI February 13, 2014

Earlier this week, when the Star-Ledger declared “we blew this one,” calling its endorsement of Chris Christie during last fall’s New Jersey gubernatorial race “regrettable,” it seemed like any remaining faith in Christie had evaporated.

Christie has not yet fallen, but the look in his eyes suggests he knows his fingers are slipping off the ledge, one at a time. Even if no documents emerge that put Christie’s fingerprints on the George Washington Bridge, he’s already in such trouble that to let even something as inconsequential as a months-old endorsement rest unrevoked would be an embarrassment.

Amid all the hand-wringing by the press over Christie warning signs they might have missed, it’s instructive to take a close look at the governor’s earliest, mostly forgotten, political adventures. Bridgegate wasn’t a sudden fall from grace—it was just the first time anyone was paying attention.

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As a young lawyer in the 1990s, the rules and customs of small time campaigns were not of particular interest to Chris Christie. Local New Jersey pols—no strangers to bare-knuckle tactics—had never seen anything like him. Picture Christie, as he is today: overreaching, overbearing, over-everything. A personality so big it threatens to subsume the state he rules. Now take that image and superimpose it on the quaint landscape of the local Jersey politics of 20 years ago, with minuscule campaign war chests and candidates hammering in their own lawn signs.

Christie in Lilliput. There was a lot of breakage.

His early political career saw him kicked off a ballot, successfully sued for libel and all but chased out of local Republican politics by a pitchfork-wielding mob.

In April 1993, the 31-year-old future governor—then just an attorney from Mendham, the type of place a family in a Norman Rockwell painting might live—hit the ground running for his first political campaign… And came to a dead stop.

Christie had entered the Republican primary to unseat a 15-year veteran of the New Jersey State Senate, a man for whom he had previously been an aide, Majority Leader John Dorsey. In his formal announcement, Christie explained, “The issue which has energized me to get into this race is the recent attempt by certain Republican legislators to repeal New Jersey’s ban on assault weapons.”

A few days into his first political campaign, Christie was keeping pace. He publicly challenged Dorsey to limit the amount of campaign funds he would collect from PACs and he had already gotten the required 100 signatures needed to get his name on the ballot—in fact, he’d obtained 111.

But then somebody read the names.

Dorsey charged that 40 of the 111 signatures were from people in the wrong legislative district, and another 27 were not even those of registered Republicans. Dorsey had also trapped Christie, waiting until the very last minute to challenge the petitions, leaving Christie no time to correct his rookie mistake.

In a tactic he would repeat with Bridgegate, Christie went on offense. “I’m confident I’m going to be upheld,” he told the Star-Ledger. “This is just a perfect example of John Dorsey. He thinks that he has a birthright to this seat and he doesn’t want anybody to run against him.”

Christie and his attorneys met Dorsey in court. They asked to bend the rules by using new signatures they had just obtained, and they argued that because many of the signers believed they lived within the district, the signatures were valid. The judge didn’t buy it, and rejected Christie’s petition to appear on the ballot. Christie appealed, saying “those signatures were valid because they were taken in good faith.” No dice: A state Appellate Division panel ruled 3-0 in favor of Dorsey. “He may be an aggressive candidate,” Dorsey said at the time. “But he doesn’t seem to understand the rules of the law.”

If there was any doubt that MSNBC is a mouthpiece for liberal activism, Chris Hayes should have erased it on Wednesday’s edition of his program All In. Hayes was discussing MSNBC’s favorite current topic – the Chris Christie “Bridgegate” saga – with Dan Cantor, national director of the ultra-liberal Working Families Party. [Video below. MP3 audio here.]

Near the end of the discussion, Cantor optimistically declared his belief that Christie will be defeated in the end, thanks in part to Cantor’s own organization:

I think it’s pretty likely Governor Christie will end up having to resign, because he clearly either knew about it – I mean, we called for his resignation, tens of thousands of people have already signed that petition, and we think there will be more.

Cantor forgot to plug the website for that petition, but not to worry – Hayes jumped in, noting for his audience, “That’s at ChristieJam.org.”

Way to help the cause, Chris.

Cantor said he expected more signatures, and with Hayes’ help, he almost certainly will get more (maybe a few hundred more if all of Hayes’ viewers sign the petition).

Forcing Chris Christie to resign over a traffic jam is apparently a cause for which Hayes can be "all in." But can you imagine him inviting on a guest who started a petition to impeach President Obama, let alone telling viewers where to find the petition? Our current president can get away with almost anything as far as Hayes and his MSNBC primetime colleagues are concerned. Benghazi, the IRS targeting scandal, the arbitrary and arguably illegal changes-by-fiat to the ObamaCare legislation – they don’t matter as much as a traffic jam that only impacted a sliver of the country’s population for a few days last summer.

Destroying any serious Republican presidential challengers to Hillary Clinton in 2016 seems to be a goal at MSNBC. In addition to the Christie coverage, Hayes led off Wednesday’s broadcast with 14 minutes devoted to the emerging controversy surrounding Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) and his aides. You could see the joy on the host’s face as he declared, “It turns out that Scott Walker has more or less the exact same baggage that none other than Chris Christie has.”

That “baggage” for both governors includes plenty of unproven allegations at this point. It also includes one cable network that is obsessively hyping the stories in order to destroy both men before they ever have a chance to run for president. After all, obliterating Republicans and electing Democrats is what it means to “lean forward.”

Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the discussion:

CHRIS HAYES: Do you suspect that we will see a ratcheting up of the legal battle here, that basically the first wave of stuff that was turned over happened kind of without a fight, partly because of the people at issue, but what we're going to see now is just sort of all out –

DAN CANTOR, National Director, Working Families: Yeah, this is war. You know, obviously the legislature has its own attorneys trying to get information. Presumably the press is going to try to get some. And Maestro, in theory doing the independent investigation, is going to be trying to prevent it all from happening, going on the offense in this kind of mind-boggling way you described at the outset. Pretty optimistic that at the end the truth will come out. I think it’s pretty likely Governor Christie will end up having to resign, because he clearly either knew about it – I mean, we called for his resignation, tens of thousands of people have already signed that petition, and we think there will be more.

HAYES: That’s at ChristieJam.org. Dan Cantor from the Working Families, thank you so much.

Late yesterday afternoon, Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC) was denied access to integrity monitor reports that are in the possession of the NJ Department of Community Affairs. The reports are required by a state law passed by the Legislature in March 2013 for all Sandy contracts above $5 million. That law, which went into effect immediately upon signing by Governor Christie, was not implemented until February 2014. FSHC requested the integrity monitor reports under the state's public records law. The request was denied because "these reports are draft reports and as such are being exempted in their entirety as advisory and consultative documents." There was no further information given - such as how many reports exist, which contracts they are on, and who had drafted the reports.